Building units or components



April 8, 1958 w. H. WILLATTS ETAL 2,829,403

BUILDING UNITS OR COMPONENTS Filed Dec. 28, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 8, 1958 w. H. WILLATTS ETAL BUILDING UNITS OR COMPONENTS Filed Dec. 28, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 1958 w. H. WILLATTS ETAL 2,829,403

BUILDING UNITS OR COMPONENTS Filed Dec. 28, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 length than width and is comparatively shallow United States Pater BUILDING UNITS R COMPONENTS William Henry Willatts, Wimbledon, and Alfred Hans Cornwall, London, England Application December 28, 1954, Serial No. 477,)65

Claims priority, application Great Britain January 22, 1954 7 Claims. (Cl. 20--.5)

This invention relates to building units, or components, and more particularly to prefabricated units for use in the construction of floors, roofs and walls.

According to the invention there is provided a building unit or component comprising at least one trough-like element having a pair of substantially co-planar members extending longitudinally of the unit and spaced laterally apart one from the other, a longitudinally extending member disposed in a plane spaced from and generally parallel to said co-planar members, and webs between said longitudinal member and said co-planar members, said webs forming opposed side walls of the trough, the arrangement being such that the unit or component can be erected for use as a support in the construction of a fioor, ceiling, roof or the like structural part of a building.

The invention may also be recited as providing a building unit comprising a series of trough-like elements disposed in side-by-side relation and including two spaced apart rows of generally co-planar members extending longitudinally of the unit, the members in each row being substantially parallel and laterally spaced one from the other, and including also webs which extend between and which are connected to the members in the two rows to form the opposed side walls of the trough-like elements, the arrangement being such as to provide a preformed structural unit which can be employed as a support in the construction of a wall-ceiling, roof or the like.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how it may be carried into effect, the same will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a structural unit according to one embodiment of the invention,

Figure 2 is a transverse section taken along the line IllI of Figure 1,

Figures 3 to 5 are partial perspective views illustrating modifications of the unit shown in Figure l, and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a structural component according to a further embodiment of the invention.

The unit illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 is of greater in depth or thickness. The unit comprises a series of inter-connected troughs defined by upper and lower substantially parallel rows of battens, indicated generally at 1 and 2 respectively, the battens extending from end-to-end of the unit and the batens in the lower row each being connected to adjacent battens in the upper row by webs 3, which latter form the opposed longitudinalsides or walls of the troughs. The battens in each row are spaced apart uniformly and are substantially parallel to each other. In the present embodiment the unit has, in the lower row, three longitudinal battens 4 and, in the upper row, five longitudinal battens disposed in staggered relation with respect to the battens 4, the webs 3 being inclined at an angle to the planes of the two rows of battens. The upper row of battens comprises two intermediate battens 5, each extending generally centrally of the space between the two subjacent battens 4, and the upper row further comprises two marginal battens 6 which are substantially co-planar with the intermediate battens 5.

In order to facilitate the connection of the webs to the battens, the latter are substantially trapezoidal in section and are arranged so that the broadest faces of the upper battens are directed downwardly and the corresponding faces of the lower battens are directed upwardly, the angles of the trapezoids being such as to provide the battens with bevelled edges 7 inclined at angles corresponding to the angular disposition of the webs 3. As shown in Figure 2, the battens 4 and 5 are of identical shape, and the marginal battens 6 conform generally in cross-section to one-half of a batten 4 or 5, each marginal batten having a bevelled edge 7 and a free edge 8 generally perpendicular to the upper and lower faces of the batten.

At each end of the unit, the webs 3 terminate a short distance from the adjacent extremities of the battens, to enable transverse reinforcing members or end boards 9 to be applied to the unit in such a manner that the inner faces of the members 9 abut the ends of the webs 3 and the upper and lower edges of said members are engaged by the projecting end portions of the battens. In Figures 1 and 2, the transverse members 9 are shown as integral parts of the unit, but normally the members will be fixed in position, as hereinafter described, during erection of the units on the building site.

The webs 3 are strengthened at each end by stiffening blocks 18, the outer faces of the blocks being flush with the ends of the webs so as to abut the members 9 when the latter are applied to the unit. If desired, similar stiffening blocks may be arranged in spaced apart relation along the webs and secured thereto, to provide reinforcement of the troughs transversely of the unit according to the loading requirements of the unit.

To enable two or more similar units to be fitted together, the edge 3 of each terminal batten 6 is formed with a longitudinally extending groove or rabbet 11, arranged so that co-operating grooves in adjacent units can receive a separate tongue or fillet .12 to hold the contiguous marginal battens 6 in substantial co-planar relation.

In the described embodiment, the battens and also the transverse members 9 and the stiffening blocks 10, are formed of timber, and the webs 3 are cut from plywood. Each web may be cut from a continuous sheet of plywood, or alternatively may consist of a number of lengths of plywood secured to the adjacent battens. in assembly of the unit, the webs are preferably secured to the longitudinal battens and to the blocks 10 by means of nailed and glued joints, the nails providing both positive fixing and the necessary pressure to ensure a proper glued joint. The use of glue is not, however, essential since nailed joints may readily be calculated to meet the loading requirements for which the unit is designed. The other parts of the unit may be secured together in a similar manner. I v

The angle of inclination of the webs 3 will be determined generally by the depth of the troughs and by the width and spacing of the longitudinal battens. Preferably, the battens in each row are spaced with 16'inches between centres so as to conform with the practice commonly employed in the building trade of laying floors with timber joists at 16 inch centres, and accordingly the outer grooved edge 8 of each terminal batten 6 will be spaced by 8 inches from the centre of the adjacent batten 4- in the lower row. For normal purposes, the depth of the unit may be approximately one-twenty-fourth of the length or effective span of the unit, it being found that .square foot, may "Where,,however, the Effective spans are increasedthe units a roof unit having a span of 12 feet and adapted to take a loadof 25 lbs. per square foot, or a unit oflOfoot span for the floor and adapted to carry a load of 40 lbs. per conveniently be inches in depth.

ing by-laws or other requirements.

As already described, the battens extend over the whole length of the unit and since the battens in the upper and lower rows are substantially .co-planar, they provide a convenient support to which sheeting, cladding or other required surfaces may be fixed, as by nails or other fastening means. The units can thus be used for flooring, Walling and either flat or pitched roofs. For walling purposes, two or more units may be erected in an upright position, and appropriate sheeting or other walling material fastened to gether by engagement of a tongue or fillet 12 in the cooperating grooves 11 of adjacent marginal battens 6 and transverse members 9 being nailed in position at the ends of the units. Inthe constructionof roofs, two or more units can be arranged to span either from eaves to ridge, or between cross walls. In either case, fillets or tongues can be inserted in the co-operating grooves of adjacent units, and transverse members 9 subsequently nailed in position at the ends of the troughs of the units. The units are then covered with roofing material, such as asbestos, or the like, which is nailed to the upper longitudinal battens; alternatively, tilting battens may be nailed to the upper battens of the units for the provision of a tiled roof.

Where, fiat roof decking is applied over a unit, a secret gutter may be provided along one side of the roof by so arranging the decking that a marginal trough at the eaves is left open, and the marginal trough is lined with a water-proofing material to form an unobtrusive gutter.

A secret gutter could, if desired, be formed by leaving an intermediate trough of the unit open.

The transverse members or end boards 9, will norm-ally be cut to size from appropriatelengths of timber and fixed to the units on the site before the units are placed in position. The transverse members are fastened to the units by insertion between upper and lower battens and nails are driven through the end portions of the battens into the transverse members. In addition, the transverse members may be nailed to the stiffening blocks 10 at the ends of the units.

For the construction of floors and ceilings, the units will normally be, supported at their opposite ends upon walls of the building, and portions of the units may be cut away to provide for chimney breasts and the like. An alternative means of support is the provision of brackets formed, for example, of metal and secured in spaced apart relation to the transverse members at the ends of each unit, each bracket having a flange, or hook, part of which can engage, or be embedded in, the adjacent supporting wall.

Two or more units may be arranged end-toend with the troughs of the units in substantial alignment. In such an 'airangement adjacent units may have a common transverse member or end board, this being of suflicient thickness to engage between the adjacent projecting end portions of the longitudinal battens of the two units, thereby to join the units together. The thicker transverse member or end board may also serve as a beam to provide transverse support at the adjoining ends of the units.

the battens, the units being secured to- A preformed unit may be provided with one or more intermediatetransverse supports as shown at 13 in Figure 3, each support 13 being similar to a transverse end memher 9, the support being engaged between the upper and lower longitudinal battens of the unit and passing through slots 14- formed in the webs 3. V

The unit of Figure 3 is shown as incorporated in a floor and ceiling structure, there being flooring timbers 15 secured by nails 16 to the upper battens 5 and 6, and ceiling sheets 17 similarly secured to the lower battens Figure 3 also illustrates another form of stiiiening means for the troughs, comprising transverse ribs 18 each 'of generally trapezoidal shape andhaving inclined edges abutting and secured to theopposed webs 3 of the troughs. In Figure 4 there is illustrated a further alternative form of transverse stitfeningmeans for the troughs, the

stiffening means comprising longitudinally spaced transverse struts 19 extending between the webs of the Itroughs.

Figure 5 illustrates a structure wherein a preformed unit supports floor and ceiling surfaces and wherein there is mounted upon the floor, a well or partition 20. In this arrangement, the trough above which the partition extends is reinforced by a longitudinal stiffening plate 21 of timber, mounted edgewise beneath the partition and secured, as by nails and glue, to the lower batten 4 of the trough.

Should it be desired to employ units of particularly long spans so that the units are for example less in thickness than one-twenty-fourth of their length, the, or certain of the, troughs of each unit may be provided with short lengths of timber, mounted in a similar manner to the plate 21, so as to assist in minimizing deflection of the unit when subjected to a load.

The longitudinal battens of a unit may be rectangular in' section, in which case the webswill be generally perpendicular to the planes of the upper ,and lower battens to provide troughs of substantially rectangular section.

If desired, a strengthened structure may be produced by placing a unit of one series of troughs into another similar unit, the troughs of the units nesting one within the other in such a manner that a composite structure of two or more layers is formed.

If desired, each preformed unit may include fiat decking, wallboard, flooring timbers, or other required covering applied to one or bothsides of the unit before delivery to the site.

The structure of Figure 6 consists of a component 22 having a single trough formed in a somewhat similar manner to one of the troughs of Figure 1, the same references being employed in Figure 6 as in Figure 1 to designate similar parts. The component 22 is intended for use as a beam or column and forthis purpose, the

trough is covered with sheet material, such as plywood, as shown at 23, the latter being nailed to the marginal battens 6. There is thus provided a structural component of generally triangular section which is suitable for. resisting loads applied at an angle, or parallel, to the longitudinal axis of the component.

As in the aforcdescribed arrangements, the rigidity of the component of Figure 6 may be increased by spaced stiffening blocks, or 'by ribs, such as are shown at 18 in Figure 3, or by internal longitudinally extending timber members mounted edgewise between the covering 23 and the-opposite longitudinal batten 4.

Components according to Figure 6 may readily be adapted for various conditions of loading by being placed side-by-side, or at laterally spaced intervals, to enable loads to be carried over any required span. The components also lend themselves to the construction of multiple beams or columns by joining two or more with It is to be understood that in the foregoing embodiments, the webs 3 may, if desired, be formed of sheet material other than plywood, such as sheets of synthetic plastic. It will be appreciated that the units are simple to manufacture and relatively light in weight, but nevertheless, by virtue more particularly of their trough-like structure, the units can be designed to carry comparatively heavy loads over prescribed spans.

We claim:

1. A preformed building unit comprising a series of trough-like elements disposed in side-by-side relation and opening alternately on opposite side faces of the unit, said unit including two rows of generally co-planar members, the two rows being spaced apart to define the opposite side faces of the unit and the members in each row extending continuously longitudinally of said troughlike elements, the longitudinal members in each row being substantially parallel and laterally spaced a predetermined distance apart one from another, to define on each face of the unit the open sides of the troughlike elements, Webs of sheet material extending longitudinally of said elements and disposed between the members in the two rows to form the opposite closed sides of the trough-like elements, said webs having opposite marginal portions applied over and secured to the adjacent longitudinal planar edge faces of the longitudinal members in the two rows, means connecting said webs to said planar edge faces, portions at the opposite extremities of said longitudinal members projecting beyond the adjacent ends of said webs, transverse reinforcing members at opposite ends of said unit, said transverse members extending across the ends of all of said trough-like elements and being engaged between the projecting portions of said longitudinal members in the two rows, and means fixing said transverse members between said projecting portions, said transverse members abutting the adjacent ends of said webs and co-operating with said webs to brace apart the longitudinal members in said two rows.

2. A preformed 'building unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein each trough-like element is substantially trapezoidal in transverse section the oppositely disposed webs being inclined with respect to the longitudinal members of said element, and wherein the longitudinal members consist of timber battens having longitudinal edge faces which are inclined in conformity with the angular dis position of said webs, and all of said battens being cut from standard lengths of timber of trapezium shape in cross-section, the angular disposition of said webs and of the adjacent edge faces of the battens, being determined by the depth of the trough-like elements according to the span and loading for which the unit is intended.

3. A preformed building unit as claimed in claim 1, including intermediate said transverse reinforcing members at opposite ends of the unit, additional transverse reinforcing means extending across said trough-like elements.

4. A preformed building unit comprising a series of open-sided trough-like elements trapezoidal in section and disposed in side-by-side relation said elements opening alternately on opposite side faces of the unit, said unit including two rows of generally co-planar timber battens extending continuously longitudinally of said elements, the timber battens in each row being substantially parallel and laterally spaced one from another a predetermined distance to define in each row the open side of the alternately disposed trough-like elements, webs of sheet material, such as plywood, extending longitudinally of said elements and disposed between said battens in the two rows to form the closed sides of said trough-like elements, said webs having opposite marginal portions applied over and covering adjacent longitudinal and inclined planar edge faces of said battens, means connecting said webs. to said planar edge faces, portions at the opposite extremities of said battens projecting beyond the adjacent ends of said webs, transverse reinforcing boards at opposite ends of said unit, said transverse boards extending across the ends of all of said trough-like elements and being engaged between the projecting portions of the battens in the two rows, and means fixing said transverse boards to said projecting portions, said transverse boards abutting the adjacent ends of said webs and co-operating with said webs to brace apart the longitudinal battens in the two rows.

5. A preformed building unit as claimed in claim 4, wherein there is provided at least one intermediate transverse support disposed between and spaced from the end board, said intermediate support extending between adjacent lengths of the web material and opposite edges of said support engaging opposed faces of the longitudinal battens.

6. A preformed building unit as claimed in claim 4, wherein certain at least of the laterally spaced substantially co-planar longitudinal battens have applied thereto a'covering of sheet material, boards, and the like.

7. A preformed building unit comprising at least one open-sided trough-like element of trapezium shape in cross-section and having two generally parallel and substantially co-planar battens similar in thickness and extending continuously longitudinally of said element, said battens being spaced a predetermined distance apart to define the open side of said element and having their opposed inwardly directed edges formed as longitudinally extending inclined planar abutment surfaces, another batten similar in thickness to said co-planar battens and extending continuously longitudinally of said element and disposed in a plane spaced from and generally parallel to said co-planar members to form the base of said trough-like element, said other batten being of trapezium shape in cross-section and having along its opposite outwardly directed side edges, inclined planar abutment surfaces corresponding and substantially parallel to the inclined abutment surfaces of said coplanar battens, webs of sheet material extending longitudinally of the element and disposed between said other batten and said two co-planar battens to define the opposite closed side walls of the element, said webs being inclined to said battens and having marginal portions applied over and secured in face-to-face relation to the adjacent longitudinal planar abutment surfaces of said longitudinal battens, portions at the opposite extremities of said battens projecting beyond the adjacent ends of said webs, and transverse reinforcing members at opposite ends of said element, said transverse members being engaged between the projecting portions of said battens and cooperating with said webs to brace said two co-planar battens from said other batten.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Prefabrication, November 1953, pages 42-44. 

